Court strike stalls Chaponda’s case
The ongoing Judiciary support staff strike has stalled progress in the case involving embattled former minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda and two others in connection with the dubious Zambia maize imports.
Blantyre chief resident magistrate Simeon Mdeza had set this Wednesday for the commencement of the case, but due to the ongoing strike by the Judiciary support staff a new date will have to be fixed.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Chaponda alongside Rashid Tayub, director of Transglobe Produce Export Limited—a farm produce trading company—and Grace Mijiga Mhango, a businessperson who chairs the Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi (GTPA).
The three were arrested on July 19 this year in connection with their respective roles in the procurement and importation of maize from Zambia last year in an attempt to fight off food shortage that had wrecked the country following a poor harvest.
In an interview yesterday, ACB deputy director-general Reyneck Matemba said it was unlikely the case would begin because they were yet to consolidate it, which was the first thing before trial, due to the sit-in.
Initially, ACB separated the charge sheet for Mhango who was arrested in Lilongwe from Chaponda and Tayub who were nabbed in Blantyre to reportedly avoid transferring them from either Lilongwe to Blantyre or vice versa for formal charging.
Said Matemba: “We haven’t been able to file the application for the consolidation of the two cases because the criminal registry is closed due to the industrial strike by the Judiciary support staff.
“It is, therefore, clear the case won’t commence on the 9th of August as previously scheduled.”
He said even if the strike was to be called off today, it would still be impractical to proceed with the case because of time factor as the defence would also need to be served with documents to prepare for it.
On his part, Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula also said the matter would proceed as planned only if the strike was called off.
Chaponda, considered one of the most powerful Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials where he serves as vice-president (Southern Region), and his co-accused spent a night in the cooler following their arrests after they handed themselves to ACB offices in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
He was charged with the offences of misuse of public office and possession of foreign currency without the lawful justification whereas Tayub was charged with the offence of influencing a public officer to misuse public office while Mhango was charged with forgery and both pleaded not guilty to the counts. n
